After a spirited debate over whether or not to raise taxes, some confusion over what exactly was being amended and an apocalyptic warning from Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) of a new control board for the District, the D.C. Council voted 11-2 this afternoon to approve a plan to close a $188 million budget gap in the current fiscal year.

The plan, originally presented by Mayor Adrian Fenty and amended by Council Chair and Mayor-elect Vince Gray, calls for significant cuts to social services and four days of furloughs for city employees — but keeps tax rates at current levels.

During the council debate, which was initially interrupted by impromptu demonstrations, Councilmembers Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5), Michael A. Brown (I-At Large), Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) tried to present various proposals calling for tax increases on the city’s highest earners.

Wells outlined one of the day’s most detailed tax increases, calling for a quarter-of-a-percent hike on residents earning $75,000 or more, a half-a-percent hike for those making more than $150,000 and a full percent jump for those making $1 million or more. The tax increases, he said, would bring in $37.9 million in 2011 and up to $62 million in 2014. “A tax increase will help spread the cost…beyond the city’s poor,” he argued.